At the Earth’s Core (76) is the second film adaptation of a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs by the team of director Kevin Connor, producer John Dark, actor Doug McClure and British production house Amicus.

It is not part of Burroughs’ Caprona book trilogy, on which Connor’s other films The Land that Time Forgot (75) and the People that Time Forgot (77) were based, but deals nevertheless with the theme of a lost and hidden world where the protagonists encounter humans and creatures from an ancient time.

And unlike the two Caprona films, which set the action during World War I, At the Earth’s Core takes place during Victorian times and the first ten minutes of the film provide an effective display and homage to the technical ambition and prowess that we have come to associate with this period of British history. The giant mole, quite believable in its rendition, remind us that technology and progress are integral and necessary to Science Fiction and At the Earth’s Core draws on this relationship in a fashion that is reminiscent of some of Wells or Verne’s writings before.

But the somewhat believable environment that is created in the first 10 minutes of the film quickly disappears, and is replaced by a very tongue and cheek B movie which can only be appreciated with the knowledge that most of the comic situations and the overall ‘cheesy’ aspect of the film is indeed deliberate. Since the movie did not benefit from a large enough budget, a pity for a film based on a novel depicting such a visually rich and artificial world, the decision was made to rely on comedy rather than believability and to hope that the fun and ‘over the top’ aspect of the film would keep audiences entertained, especially younger ones.

Peter Cushing plays the role of the absent-minded English professor, and it is actually hard to tell if Cushing enjoyed the role tremendously or just didn’t know what to do with it. Doug McClure gives another stiff but perfect-for-a-B movie performance, and Caroline Munro, as the barely dressed Princess Dia, in spite of very little acting ability, seems to be, along with the latex suit dinosaurs, what most people remember the most after watching the film.

B movies don’t come any more extravagant and colorful than this.

Synopsis
The action takes place sometimes in the second half of the 19th century. Professor Abner Perry (Peter Cushing), a leading scientific mind, oversees the construction of a giant mole, a ‘high calibration digging machine’ that is to be used to explore beneath the surface of the Earth.

The mole is ready and a large number of people have gathered in a specific part of Wales for the unveiling and the first demonstration. Perry is assisted by the American David Innes (Doug McClure), once Perry’s worst student, and now his financial backer.
As the celebrations begin, Perry and Innes enter the mole and sit at the control center. They begin the procedure. But something goes wrong and the mole starts to drill downward at an incredible speed. As they go through various layers of ice and hot rock, both Perry and Innes lose consciousness. They awaken and attempt to maneuver the mole upwards but come to a crashing halt.

Innes exits the Mole and discovers a colorful and strange prehistoric landscape. Perry quickly determines that they have not reached the surface, but are rather at the earth’s core. As they continue to examine the fauna and to ponder their options, they are attacked by a very large creature, something between a dinosaur and a parrot.

But as they run away from the beast, they are ‘saved’ and taken prisoners by another group of creatures, this time half human half pig, called the Sagoth. Innes and Perry are chained to a group of humans who, like them, have been captured by the Sagoth. One of these ‘locals’ is princess Dia (Caroline Munro). She explains to Innes and Perry that the Sagoth are in fact the slaves of the Meyhas, a race of telepathic pterodactyls who rule the city of Pellucidar. The Meyhas use their psychic powers to hypnotize the humans before eating them.

A local named Sly, noticing Dia’s interest in Innes, tries to reprimand her. Innes punches Sly, and according to local culture, through this gesture, stakes his right to Dia. But he must also kill any man who may already have a claim on Dia. As it so happens, a dangerous man named The Ugly One does claim Dia as hers. Dia, fearing for her life, escapes.

The chained humans are led into the caves of Pellucidar where they are put to work until the day when they may be offered in sacrifice as food to the Meyhas. While working in the mines, Innes escapes and finds a path that leads him outside of the caves. There he meets a local named Ra. After an initial physical altercation between the 2 men, Innes saves Ra from the deadly grasp of a squid-like creature. They become friends and decide that, together, they must stop the Meyhas. They re-enter the caves but Innes is captured and must fight a giant lizard. He manages to kill the beast and takes advantage of the resulting confusion to find Perry and to escape once again.

Outside, they find Dia and save her from a flame-throwing dinosaur. They set out towards the camp where Ra and other humans live. Once there, they create a small army and Innes teaches them how to use bows and arrows. But the Ugly One finds Innes and leads him into a fight. Innes defeats and kills the Ugly One.

Later, the small army of men enters Pellucidar. Half of them, led by Ra, head for a specific area of the caves where the egg of the Meyhas is kept and protected, while the rest of the group, led by Innes, moves in the direction of the lair of the Meyhas. Ra manages to destroy the egg but is killed in the process. Innes and his group find and kill the Meyhas. The caves are destroyed.

Pellucidar is now free and the humans can leave in peace. Innes and Perry make their arrangements for the trip back to the surface of the earth. Dia wants to remain on Pellucidar and Innes decides that he must leave. Perry and Innes enter the giant mole and manage to get back to the surface of the Earth.